If you like pop art, Damien Hirst, Damien Hirst’s spot paintings, or Andy Warhol, Whitney Houston, Judy Garland, Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix or Truman Capote and you live in New York, you should head over to Jim Kempner Fine Art in Chelsea to see John Grande’s exhibit “Oh You Pretty Things,” which superimpose Damien Hirst’s spot paintings over these icons.

Damien Hirst by John Grande

Jim Kempner Fine Art is located at 501 West 23rd Street and the exhibit is up through February 23, 2014.

One of the gods of Rock and Roll, Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942. Had he lived past his 27th birthday, he’d be celebrating number 69 today! It’s hard to believe he’s not with us anymore because aside from not being able to tour anymore, for obvious reasons, there’s been a steady output of unreleased music released since his death. For Jimi fans, you’ll really want to grab a copy of the 4 CD/1 DVD box set “West Coast Seattle Boy,” as it contains 3 discs of outtakes and demos – and it’s GREAT! Wherever you are Jimi, happy birthday!

What’s your favorite Jimi Hendrix song? For me, there’s too many to name, but I think I’ll celebrate the day listening to “Foxey Lady,” “Hey Joe,” and the entire “Axis: Bold As Love” album.

In the wake of Amy Winehouse’s death and her entry into the “27 Club” (rockers who died at age 27), it made me reflect on the legacies that Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain left behind. They exited this world way too soon, but in their active years, they were productive and creative beyond belief. Nearly 40 years after Jimi Hendrix’ death, unreleased material continues to be unearthed and for die-hard fans such as myself, we are discovering missing pieces of puzzles we all thought we had completely figured out.

Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings are continuing their amazing series of unreleased Jimi Hendrix material and September 13, 2011 is going to be a great day for Jimi fans. On that day, the world will see and hear the release of a 4-disc deluxe box set of “Winterland,” an expanded edition of “Hendrix in the West,” a DVD release of “Jimi Hendrix: Live at the Isle of Wight,” and a DVD of all of Jimi’s appearances on the Dick Cavett Show.

“Winterland” is a 4 CD set drawn from 6 shows recorded over 3 days (October 10, 11, and 12, 1968) at San Francisco’s historic Winterland Ballroom. A severely edited one disc version was released years ago, but now fans will have access to these pristine sound quality recordings that feature so many unheard live versions of classic Hendrix songs such as “Manic Depression,” “Foxey Lady,” “Hey Joe,” and “Purple Haze.” There are also covers of “The Star Spangled Banner,” Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” and Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love.” You can see the tracklistings for these CDs by clicking on the picture above. What you need to know about this release is as follows – if you are a Hendrix fan, you cannot even think about not owning this amazing box set. The sound quality is pristine. The set lists feature so many of the classic Jimi Hendrix Experience songs. Last but not least, Jimi Hendrix rarely played the same song in the same way twice. You’ll hear versions of songs like”Red House” that range from 4 minutes to 11 minutes, once again showing that Jimi Hendrix was not just a wizard in the studio, but he was one of the most electrifying live performers of his time.

Amazon.com will be selling an exclusive version of “Winterland” that will feature an additional CD of bonus material, so you’ll probably want to order the set directly from them to enjoy extra songs such as “Killing Floor,” “Red House,” “Dear Mr. Fantasty (Parts 1 and 2)” which are taken from Jimi’s February 4, 1968 Winterland show.

“Winterland,” an expanded edition of “Hendrix in the West,” a DVD release of “Jimi Hendrix: Live at the Isle of Wight,” and a DVD of all of Jimi’s appearances on the Dick Cavett Show will be released on September 13, 2011. No Hendrix collection will be complete without them!